King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain

King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain
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By m.p. - May 1, 2007 - 12:39 PM

King Juan Carlos 1 - Photo EFE

The Monarch is well-loved by the Spanish people

His Royal Majesty Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, the current reigning monarch and Head of State, was born on 5th January 1938. He is the son of Don Juan de Borbon y Battenburg, the Count of Barcelona - son and designated heir of Alfonso XIII - and Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbon y Orleans.

Don Juan Carlos was born in Rome, where the Spanish Royal Family was living after the Second Republic was established in 1931 and after his grandfather, Alfonso XIII, was deposed as monarch.
He was educated in Spain on the express wishes of his father, first visiting the country he would later rule in 1948 at the age of ten. He completed his studies in 1954 in Madrid, moving on to military training at Army, Navy and Air Force Academies, then graduating from Madrid’s Complutense University in 1961, where he studied international and constitutional law, economics and taxation.

He married the eldest daughter of King Paul I of Greece, Princess Sofía, the following year, and the couple moved to Zarzuela Palace, in Madrid. They now have three children, Princess Elena, Princess Cristina, and Prince Felipe of Asturias, the current heir to the throne.

Juan Carlos was officially named as Franco’s successor as Head of State in 1969. He then began performing official duties under the title of Prince of Spain and visited a number of foreign countries in that role.

He took over temporarily as Head of State during Franco’s illness in 1974, and was sworn in as King on 22nd November 1975, two days after Franco’s death. He said in his first message to the nation, when he set out the basic principles of his reign, that his aim was to restore democracy and become King of all Spaniards, without exception.

The Count of Barcelona renounced his claim to the throne in May 1977, and Spain’s first democratic election since 1936 was held the following month. The new parliament began work on a new Constitution, which is still in place today, and which was ratified in a national referendum on 6th December 1978. It defines Spain as a parliamentary monarchy, with the King as the Head of State, stating the King to be the arbiter and overseer of the proper working of Spain’s institutions.

An attempted military coup at the beginning of 1981 failed mainly due to decisive action from the King: he ordered a provisional government to be formed, and appeared on television to reassure the Spanish public of his commitment to the Constitution.

His Majesty has made official visits to almost the countries in the world during his reign and has received a number of international awards in recognition of his role as a statesman: he has encouraged a new style of relations with Latin America, and has always stressed the importance of Spain’s role in the context of Europe. He is patron of a number of foundations which work towards development in the arts, culture, language, technological and social advances and economics. He has received honorary doctorates from some 30 Spanish and foreign universities.

Juan Carlos said in an interview broadcast on Spanish national television in 2000 that he has always wanted the monarchy to be open and close to the people, and that one thing he learnt before becoming King, and which he said is still of great use to him, is to listen.

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